Hush
by AoiMikans
Summary: A long night at the office becomes the longest night of Naomasa Tsukauchi's life. (Manga spoilers inside)
1. Chapter 1

Naomasa was worried. His hand clutched at his pocket as he felt phantom vibrations from a phone that did not ring. It was two in the morning, and the police radio was silent. He would remember that.

Naomasa pushed his chair away from his desk and rubbed the back of his neck. The news never helped. In fact he rarely watched television. He wasn't even sure what he should be looking for. He didn't like the look that crossed Toshinori's face the other day. A reminder of the void Nana left behind.

He had no way to reach Toshinori of course. Just in case he glanced at his cell phone again. No messages.

He shook his head and forced a smile, "Honestly Naomasa, you're worse than a mother hen."

 _He'll be fine._

Light rain pattered against the office window. A hint of the nightly storms that crossed the city. He should probably head home soon. He finished his reports an hour ago, but knew more would be stacked on his desk in the morning. Missing persons cases were on the rise, the majority of them quirk users. He had a map at his place marking their last known locations.

Toshinori had just been over for tea when he saw the map. True to his nature, Toshinori couldn't help but ask. He stared at the map for a long time, his blue eyes burned with, what? Anger? Sadness? Determination? He obviously had more than a hunch about the cases.

When Naomasa put a hand on his friend's shoulder he heard a crunch. Toshinori looked abashed and held up the former mug. They could only laugh at that. Each should have been used to his strength by now. Their laughter faded. He asked what Toshinori was thinking, and his friend's perpetual grin dimmed.

Three words.

"All for One."

The office phone blared and snapped him out of his reverie. The ring was a harsh intrusion, and in an office such as his rarely brought good news.

"Musutafu Police Headquarters, Detective Tsukauchi speaking."

There was a heavy pause on the other end.

"Hello?"

A gruff voice spoke up, "Naomasa. It's Gran Torino."

A chill ran down his spine. _No._

"I'm on my way."

Click.

…

 **A/N: I wanted to explore Naomasa's character a bit and how he found out about what happened to All Might after his fight with All for One that left him scarred. I figured he probably knew about the fight beforehand, but had no way of knowing the outcome until it was too late. I imagine that he's a bit of a worrywart, especially when it comes to his friends. There's no way he wouldn't worry after All for One had killed Nana, Toshinori's master.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: First Aid & Damage Control**

 **Chapter Summary: When you're friends with a hero, who do you protect?**

 **…**

He arrived at Gran Torino's place without realizing how he got there.

The elder hero opened the door and growled, "Damned fool you'll catch your death in this storm. What did you do, run here?"

Naomasa caught his breath and said, "No trains. Where?"

Gran Torino tugged him inside and threw a towel at his head.

"Dry off, you're no use like that."

Naomasa sensed the urgency behind the biting comments and complied readily. The older hero had a sharp tongue at the best of times, but his sentences were clipped and strained.

Gran Torino shoved folded clothing in his hands, "Wash and put that on."

 _What was going on?_

"You'll need it."

Only then did Naomasa's eyes settle on what appeared to be shower curtains hiding Gran Torino's sitting room.

Now changed, Naomasa stepped past the curtain and stopped dead. He heard a keen that seemed to come from a wounded animal. His legs wobbled. The keen grew louder and he realized he was the one crying.

 _So much red._

Recovery Girl did enough to slow the bleeding for now, but Toshinori's entire upper body was inflamed.  
Naomasa stepped closer and grabbed his friend's right hand.

"Toshi-?"

Blazing blue eyes locked on to his, and Toshinori tightened his grip.

Naomasa almost smiled, but then his friend broke out into a cold sweat and convulsed. Blood splattered in his oxygen mask, and Naomasa, still within his grip, was pulled down to his knees.

"HELP! PLEASE!"

Recovery Girl had only stepped out for a moment, but she was back in a flash. She barked orders at the assistant bots, and they promptly replaced and cleaned the mask.

"Transfusion kit, status!"

The bot nearest to Naomasa replied, "Ready Doctor."

"Start."

"Roger."

The room was a whirl of activity. Part of Naomasa wondered how long it took to set this up. How long had Toshinori been…?

Naomasa stood up, "What do you need, Recovery Girl?"

She narrowed her eyes at Naomasa's hand, which was still within Toshinori's grip, and muttered under her breath.

"Can you move?"

Naomasa looked down, puzzled. He couldn't feel his hand.

"Huh?"

"Torino, arm brace and more gauze, now!"

The elder hero was by them in a flash and handed off the materials, "Anything else?"

Recovery girl shook her head, "The bots are taking care of the most pressing matter, and I've stitched up the worst of it. Keep an eye on him. If he moves like that again, he'll open his wounds."

Gran Torino nodded grimly and looked down at his former student, "You're not getting off that easy. I still need to box your ears in, you hear me, Toshi?"

Naomasa heard the crack in his voice and looked away. Recovery Girl clicked her tongue and forced Toshinori's right hand open. When she touched Naomasa's hand white light flashed behind his eyes and he cried out.

"Definitely broken. It's a brace for you, Detective."

Naomasa grunted his acknowledgement and looked at his friend closely. Toshinori's breath was ragged, and his chest made tight movements, as if he couldn't get enough air. Recovery Girl covered him with bandages after she reclosed his wounds, but Naomasa could still see some of the swollen red tissue that the bandages didn't quite cover. He jerked his eyes away and looked at his friend's face. Toshinori's eyes were rolled back. Unconscious. Color returned to his cheeks somewhat as the blood transfusion took effect.

"Will he be-?"

Recovery Girl gave him a hard look.

"I don't know. This was just first aid."

Naomasa paled.

"Sorry to ask this of you Detective, but we don't need you here. We need you to do damage control. Word of this cannot get out. Not now."

Naomasa lifted his left hand to his temple and swayed, "I- I understand."

He wanted to stay. Stay for Toshinori. _His best friend._ But this wasn't about what he wanted. As a friend of Toshinori, he swore to protect both sides of him. They needed someone to protect All Might.

Naomasa stood tall.

"I understand, Recovery Girl. Gran Torino. I'm leaving Toshinori in your hands."

 _I've got All Might._

He turned to his battered friend and forced a smile, "It's alright. Why, you say?"

"For we are here."

 **…**

 **A/N: I think I broke my own heart writing this.**


End file.
